


A Fine Line

by MelodyoftheVoid



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Angst, Existential Crisis, Gen, Introspection, Sort Of, Transformation, it's a mental breakdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:40:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23329393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodyoftheVoid/pseuds/MelodyoftheVoid
Summary: Dib reflects on his time in the void.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 65





	A Fine Line

Insomnia was no stranger to Dib Membrane. Late nights staring into the blue light of his beloved laptop and feverishly checking up on his army of cameras had absolutely demolished his natural sleep cycle years ago. This was different. 

Dib lay restless that night, staring up into the dim glow of the star stickers on his ceiling hoping to calm his racing mind with their familiarity. The days(weeks?) he spent in that ‘Zimvoid’ played on loop behind his eyes, tormenting him with visions of a multiverse collapsing on itself, a maniac wearing his face orchestrating a plot of annihilation, and the lingering confusion that left him pondering his own existence that night. 

He sat up, blearily glaring at the clock reporting the time as 4:13 A.M. He wanted to spend time with Gaz tomorrow and already he could hear the bag check jokes. His thoughts wandered back to the implications of the Zims that populated that stupid dimension. A few talked about their respective Dibs, the smallest Zim, 2K if he remembered, said his Dib was more muscular, the beefy one too, No. 2 probably fought an older version of him, and then there was-

Right, the root of the problem: Zib. 

Dib padded over to his closet and the litany of coats inside, some more torn than others. How many more times had his alternate fought with his Zim to get all of those holes? He wore the boots he’d traded for his red shoes a few months back, so did he fight more often? How much longer did he have until he ended up like Zib? Was it already happening?

A shiver went up Dib’s spine at that last thought. No, no he couldn’t end up like that. Could he?

Dib lingered by the mirror for another moment before he shook his head. Crawling back into bed, he let his eyes drift close. A noise broke through the stillness moments later, causing him to sit up, frantically scanning his room for the source. Nothing. Just as Dib attempted to settle back down a set of serrated teeth grinned at him from the corner of the room.

A shriek left Dib’s mouth, quickly muffled by his hand over his mouth. He did not want to wake up Gaz. Not after last time. 

“Hello, Dib” That cursed smile grew impossibly wider, exposing more of his alternate’s sharpened teeth.

Dib scrambled up, defensively pulling the covers over himself in a flimsy attempt at protecting himself.

“What are you doing here? How did you get here? You didn’t have a ship!”

Zib scoffed, rolling his eyes in mild irritation. 

“That’s not important, we both know we’ve gotten through worse. No, I’ve come to talk.”

“Wha-“

“Hush. I will not tolerate any interruptions.”

PAK legs extended from the back of Zib’s swollen head, poised and dangerous. Dib made a zipping motion over his mouth. He knew what those legs were capable of.

“Thank you, now stand up. I am not going to have a conversation with you in bed, have some decency.”

Not breaking eye contact, Dib crept out of bed. Show no weaknesses.

“So, what made you trust a bunch of Zims over yourself?”

Dib gestured to his mouth with a flourish. 

“Smartass,” the tips of the metal legs lit up with the threat of laser fire, “answer the question.”

Okay, note to self don’t taunt the being with the laser legs. Oh who was he kidding of course he was going to. 

“It was a matter of necessity! I wanted to trust you, I thought you managed to succeed! But you lied to me! You destroyed trillions for the sake of making the Irken Empire your own!”

Zib raised his hands in mock surrender, knife-point legs still trained on Dib.

“I’ll admit my initial claims were… misleading. But you understand why I couldn’t just lead with the truth in front of all those Zims.”

Zib spat out the last word with disgust. 

“But if I recall you were on board with my plan.” 

Dib bristled, “I realized I didn’t want to be like you. What’s there to question?”

His counterpart nodded, pacing along the length of Dib’s bedroom. Hands carefully folded behind his back in a mocking facsimile of contemplation. 

“You know, I couldn’t help but notice when you first saw me, you flinched. Why was that?”

Dib froze, eyes drifting to the PAK attached to his counterpart’s head. 

Zib’s eyes lit up with a sadist’s glee, finally pinpointing a weak spot to exploit.

“Is it my PAK? Now why would you be scared of this being on me? Unless…”

Zib took a step towards Dib, terror gripping the human as his hand drifted to the scars hidden under his shirt out of reflex.

“You did, didn’t you! You attached your Zim’s PAK to yourself! And you said you were nothing like me.”

Oh, that was it. Dib was not going to take that laying down.

“I am! I didn’t keep it on like you, it was taking over me, making me like Zim! You were delusional enough to not see the changes. We’re supposed to care about humanity, our family, our home! Not taking over universes like some knock-off supervillain!”

Zib cackled, a horrid combination of Dib’s voice with the laugh of his worst nemesis. 

“Foolish human, you think I didn’t notice? I’ll tell you what happened, I didn’t _care_.”

The room morphed into Zib’s lair in the void, what Dib knew was the ruined remains of his counterpart’s universe.

“And what reason did I have to care? like I told you before, they'll never learn. They’ll never care. This world is too stupid to ever give the truth the time of day. The only way was for me to become the hero for those who knew the real threat. And if this world got caught in the crossfire? So be it.”

The more alien of the two circled the other, predatory and scheming. 

“You think your father cares about you? He only wants you to become like him, he never even gave me the time of day when my nose and ears fell off. Gaz too. I’d be willing to bet no one would notice if the same happened to you. No one would care about the weirdo who no longer had his extremities. Who had green skin and claws. They didn’t care about Zim did they? They would barely even notice the actual end of the world.”

Dib trembled as his alternate tapped a finger to his nose. 

“Go on, defend them. I’m interested to hear your thoughts. You always knew, we always knew that they’d keep their foolish heads in the sand.”

Dib’s breath quickened as his head spun. 

“I-“

“How long will it take for you to become fed up? For you to turn your back on the masses like they turned away from you?”

Dib watched in horror as his own fingers grew claw-like and sharp. Reaching up, he felt his cowlick split in two, his teeth sharpen and tongue lengthen. Tears streamed down his face as he could only endure the pain. The whispers from the PAK no doubt on the back of his head demanding loyalty and conquest intensified. A scream tearing from his throat as he fell to his knees in agony.

The last thing he saw was his alternate leering above him before his vision blacked out.

“It’s only a matter of time, Dib. It’s only a matter of time.”

Dib’s eyes opened, as the final scream left his throat. His eye squinting in the early morning light. He struggled to control his breathing, heart fluttering in his chest like he’d run a marathon. Wait. Was that all just a dream? He checked his hands and cowlick. Perfectly normal. Sitting up in bittersweet relief, Dib couldn’t help but linger on the whole of the conversation. He almost would have preferred it if Zib was there threatening him. 

The image of his imaginary transformation mirroring Zib’s haunted him. He could picture Zib's devolving mental state as the PAK stole his humanity away bit by bit. Left with no one and nothing but that whispering shout in the empty void of his own failure. 

He brushed over the scars once again. He’d learn from Zib’s mistakes, he would never end up like him. 

Dib looked one final time at the mirror on the wall, double checking his reflection. He was himself. 

But it was such a fine line wasn’t it?

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to yet another of my incoherent 3 AM ramblings. I wish my brain could let me sleep at normal hours.


End file.
